Donald Trump has blasted media coverage of a leaked intelligence report that threw doubt on the effectiveness of US strikes on Iran as "real scum", as he defended America's involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict. The US President has roundly rejected an intelligence assessment that suggested the core components of Iran's nuclear programme had not been destroyed by an attack on three sites, and continued his longstanding criticism of "fake news" outlets for publishing the findings. During a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump hit out at NBC News and CNN, accusing reporters of being "scum, real scum" who "come out and write reports that are as negative as they could possibly be".
"It should be the opposite," he added. "You should make them heroes and heroines." It comes as the head of the CIA also appeared to contradict the preliminary report on the US strikes, confirming that Iranian nuclear sites had been "severely damaged" and the country's programme set back by years. John Ratcliffe, director of the American spy agency, stopped short of echoing Trump's claim that the three facilities struck in the attack had been "completely obliterated", however.
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